Twins evoke memories of West's title run

Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 1:22 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 1:22 a.m.

As South Davidson sophomores Taylor and Austin Hatfield were guiding the Wildcats to their first Christmas tournament title ever two months ago, longtime sports editor of The Dispatch Bruce Wehrle made an observation.

Plenty of people with lengthy memories of high school basketball in this area were drawing comparisons between this new set of twins and another set of twins that led a small Davidson County community on a magical run on the hardwood.

I was 9 years old when Stan and Stewart Lanier turned West Davidson into a basketball heaven for a few memorable months. It was 1984, and the twins were seniors coming off a run through the Central Carolina Conference, tournament and district titles the year before. Hopes were high, but I don't think anyone had any idea what was in store for this team.

Like this year's version of South Davidson, the Dragons had very little height. Todd Fleming played center despite standing just 6-foot-2. He was asked to match up against big front lines plenty of times, like 6-7 Central Davidson big man Craig Kolwyck. South doesn't boast a player over 6-2, but Jordan Hughes, David Whitaker and Daniel Cook aren't scared to battle in the paint with anyone.

The Dragons also had to break in a new point guard, and Tony Norman became a huge part of this West squad. Because defenses focused so heavily on slowing down the Laniers, Norman took advantage of opportunities and became a solid scoring threat. South senior Wil Collins is unheralded, but he is the oil that keeps the Wildcats running smoothly.

The next few weeks could get very interesting for South, if they can put together a run similar to West's. The Wildcats face Albemarle in the Yadkin Valley Conference tournament semifinals Thursday night and will likely square off with defending state champ North Rowan if they reach Friday's championship game.

They need look no further than Tyro for inspiration. The Dragons started off that season at 3-6 and looked to be in disarray. But then the magic started, and it looked like it would never stop. They reeled off 22 straight wins, including beating archrival Central (which featured stud Stafford Pickett) four times.

They swept the Spartans in the regular season, then beat them in the conference tournament finals. After beating North Stanly and Forest Hills in the first two rounds of the District 6 playoffs, they hosted Central in what Wehrle called "the most important basketball game ever played between county rivals West Davidson and Central Davidson."

The county took note. To accommodate the crowd, which was estimated at 2,000 people with a few hundred more turned away at the door, West had to set up closed-circuit televisions in the commons area of the cafeteria for those who couldn't fit in the gym.

West beat Central that night 62-49, and the must-have item the next week in Tyro was a T-shirt hot off the presses at Lanier's Hardware: "We passed Central Davidson four times on our way to Hickory," I believe the shirts read. (Those surpassed the T-shirts that were previously the most popular: "I've got 21/33 double vision," honoring the twins' jersey numbers).

West followed that up with two wins at Shuford Gym on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College, beating Chatham Central 74-70 and Cherryville 82-80. The Wildcats can take comfort in those wins as well: little-used guard Stacey Hanes played a huge part in both wins, actually knocking down the game-winning free throws against Cherryville with six seconds left on the clock.

That propelled the Dragons into the 2-A state title game, and set the community on fire. It even prompted Dan Stamey, owner of Stamey's BBQ in Tyro, to quip, "There hasn't been anything this big here since they paved (N.C.) Highway 150." If anyone doubted him, all they had to see was Reeds Elementary School Principal Peggy Barnhardt taking the entire student body on the school lawn to wave at the team's vans as they passed by on their way to Hickory for the regional finals.

The Dragons' dream season ended a hair too soon, when Hobbton rallied for a 73-68 win in the finals at the Greensboro Coliseum. "I wish it didn't have to end," Stan Lanier said after the loss.

Many teams from towns all across the state will try to kick off a similar run this week. They will all wish it doesn't have to end; for all but one team in each classification, it will end with a loss.

The Wildcats hope they can take a pair of twins and a supporting cast of solid players as far as those twins did nearly 30 years ago.

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.

<p>As South Davidson sophomores Taylor and Austin Hatfield were guiding the Wildcats to their first Christmas tournament title ever two months ago, longtime sports editor of The Dispatch Bruce Wehrle made an observation.</p><p>Plenty of people with lengthy memories of high school basketball in this area were drawing comparisons between this new set of twins and another set of twins that led a small Davidson County community on a magical run on the hardwood.</p><p>I was 9 years old when Stan and Stewart Lanier turned West Davidson into a basketball heaven for a few memorable months. It was 1984, and the twins were seniors coming off a run through the Central Carolina Conference, tournament and district titles the year before. Hopes were high, but I don't think anyone had any idea what was in store for this team.</p><p>Like this year's version of South Davidson, the Dragons had very little height. Todd Fleming played center despite standing just 6-foot-2. He was asked to match up against big front lines plenty of times, like 6-7 Central Davidson big man Craig Kolwyck. South doesn't boast a player over 6-2, but Jordan Hughes, David Whitaker and Daniel Cook aren't scared to battle in the paint with anyone.</p><p>The Dragons also had to break in a new point guard, and Tony Norman became a huge part of this West squad. Because defenses focused so heavily on slowing down the Laniers, Norman took advantage of opportunities and became a solid scoring threat. South senior Wil Collins is unheralded, but he is the oil that keeps the Wildcats running smoothly.</p><p>The next few weeks could get very interesting for South, if they can put together a run similar to West's. The Wildcats face Albemarle in the Yadkin Valley Conference tournament semifinals Thursday night and will likely square off with defending state champ North Rowan if they reach Friday's championship game.</p><p>They need look no further than Tyro for inspiration. The Dragons started off that season at 3-6 and looked to be in disarray. But then the magic started, and it looked like it would never stop. They reeled off 22 straight wins, including beating archrival Central (which featured stud Stafford Pickett) four times.</p><p>They swept the Spartans in the regular season, then beat them in the conference tournament finals. After beating North Stanly and Forest Hills in the first two rounds of the District 6 playoffs, they hosted Central in what Wehrle called "the most important basketball game ever played between county rivals West Davidson and Central Davidson."</p><p>The county took note. To accommodate the crowd, which was estimated at 2,000 people with a few hundred more turned away at the door, West had to set up closed-circuit televisions in the commons area of the cafeteria for those who couldn't fit in the gym.</p><p>West beat Central that night 62-49, and the must-have item the next week in Tyro was a T-shirt hot off the presses at Lanier's Hardware: "We passed Central Davidson four times on our way to Hickory," I believe the shirts read. (Those surpassed the T-shirts that were previously the most popular: "I've got 21/33 double vision," honoring the twins' jersey numbers). </p><p>West followed that up with two wins at Shuford Gym on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College, beating Chatham Central 74-70 and Cherryville 82-80. The Wildcats can take comfort in those wins as well: little-used guard Stacey Hanes played a huge part in both wins, actually knocking down the game-winning free throws against Cherryville with six seconds left on the clock.</p><p>That propelled the Dragons into the 2-A state title game, and set the community on fire. It even prompted Dan Stamey, owner of Stamey's BBQ in Tyro, to quip, "There hasn't been anything this big here since they paved (N.C.) Highway 150." If anyone doubted him, all they had to see was Reeds Elementary School Principal Peggy Barnhardt taking the entire student body on the school lawn to wave at the team's vans as they passed by on their way to Hickory for the regional finals.</p><p>The Dragons' dream season ended a hair too soon, when Hobbton rallied for a 73-68 win in the finals at the Greensboro Coliseum. "I wish it didn't have to end," Stan Lanier said after the loss.</p><p>Many teams from towns all across the state will try to kick off a similar run this week. They will all wish it doesn't have to end; for all but one team in each classification, it will end with a loss.</p><p>The Wildcats hope they can take a pair of twins and a supporting cast of solid players as far as those twins did nearly 30 years ago.</p><p>Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.</p>